Phil Little: Memories of El Rayo (Pisaflores), Hidalgo

Phil Little has posted an account of his time 40 years ago in El Rayo (Pisaflores) Hidalgo. He's managed to dig up some interesting pictures to accompany his remembrance, and all CIASP'ers will greatly appreciate it. The story is posted to another blog, but is easily accessed at the link http://thelittlefarm.blogspot.com/2009/09/chance-encounter-with-our-mexican-past.html

Enjoy this, and consider adding your own pictures and thoughts.

Another reminder about the Facebook site for CIASP. There is a Facebook group named CIASP and anyone can join this. The advantage of the Facebook site is that it will allow everyone to directly contact anyone on the list (without using an intermediary to provide email addresses).

Facebook should be used with caution! If you are just creating an account, you should provide the minimal amount of personal information. You should also make certain that you minimize your "visibility to others" by choosing the preferences that locks out many details to strangers. Finally, do not use the applications and other programs that can be added to your Facebook account. Most privacy issues are associated with the "add-on" applications. 

Malverde: the Origin of this Cult

from Proceso.com.mx 9 de agosto de 2009
Impreso 1710 | reportajes
Malverde: el origen del culto

NIZA RIVERA

Relacionado como el santo de los narcos, Malverde es en la actualidad una figura venerada "mucho antes de que existiera la prohibición de drogas en el país", dice el investigador Luis Astorga Almanzá, cuya línea de trabajo es la sociohistoria del narcotráfico en México.
Although he’s thought of as a narco-saint, in reality Malverde was revered “long before the existence of drug prohibition in Mexico” says researcher Luis Astorga Almanzá, who has studied the sociohistory of narcotraffic in Mexico for many years.

"Se está estigmatizando a una gran cantidad de gente que cree en Malverde y que nada tiene qué ver con el tráfico de drogas. La historia precede a la prohibición de las drogas, era un bandido social en la época del porfiriato cuando no estaban prohibidas algunas plantas que ahora lo están y cuyo comercio era legal", según explica y se puede apreciar mejor en su estudio El siglo de las drogas: El narcotráfico, del porfiriato al nuevo milenio (2005).
“A large group of Malverde worshippers are stigmatized even though they have nothing to do with drug traffic. The history of this worship antedates drug prohibition, and refers to a social bandit during the Pofiriato dictatorship at a time when drugs that are now illegal were not prohibited commerce”, an argument more fully elaborated in his study “The Century of Drugs: Narcotraffic from the Porfiriato to the New Millenium” (2005)
"Lo que hizo más visible la creencia de Malverde fue el poder económico y la ostentación de los traficantes que creen en él, de ahí que medios de comunicación lo hayan calificado de 'narco-santo', pero no toman en cuenta las creencias de gente que nada tiene que ver con el tráfico de drogas, sino con la creencia que se desarrolla de figuras fuera de la Iglesia católica que son veneradas por gente, generalmente de estrato humilde, que le atribuye una serie de milagros.”
“What made the Malverde worship visible was economic power and the blatan observations of traffickers who believed in him, and later by a media effect that validated him as a “narco-saint”. Unfortunately, this doesn’t take into account the belief of people who have nothing to do with drugs, nor the common practice of worshiping figures not acknowledged by the Catholic Church, especially when it involves people in humble circumstances who have attributed miracles to those figures.”
Investigador del Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), doctorado en sociología por la Universidad de París I y coordinador de la cátedra UNESCO, Transformaciones económicas y sociales relacionadas con el problema internacional, Astorga, de origen sinaloense, realizó uno de sus primeras publicaciones sobre Malverde en Mitología del narcotraficante en México (1995).
Researcher at the Institute of Social Investigation at the Autonomous University of Mexico, with a doctorate in sociology from the University of Paris, and currently coordinator of the UNESCO division “Economic and Social Transformations linked to International problems, Astorga was born in Sinaloa, and first wrote about Malverde in 1995 in “The Mythology of the Narcotrafficker in Mexico”
"En términos sociológicos, relacionar a Malverde sólo con el narcotráfico es privilegiar una parte del fenómeno, la más visible o la más espectacular, la que llama más la atención.”
In sociological terms, to link Malverde only to narcotraffic is to recognize only one part of the phenomenon — the most visible or the most spectacular— that which brings the most attention!”
Jesús Juárez Mazzo, un bandido generoso -como Chucho El Roto-, que robaba a los ricos y cuyo botín repartía a los pobres en la época del porfiriato, según se cuenta, y cuya fecha de muerte se acepta como el 3 de mayo de 1909, día de su fiesta, es descrito así por la investigadora y crítica de arte Ida Rodríguez Prampolini, El culto a Jesús Malverde, editado por Contrapunto en Veracruz:
The history of Jesus Juarez Mazzo, a benevolent bandit — like that of Chucho El Roto—who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor during the Porfiriato period, and whose feast day is the day of his death on May 3rd, 1909 is elaborated more completely by researcher and art critic Ida Rodriguez Prampolini in her book “the Cult of Jesus Malverde” (published by Contrapunto in Veracruz)”
"La leyenda dice que después de muerto su cuerpo permaneció colgado en un mezquite por órdenes del gobernador, y para escarmiento de sus seguidores no debería dársele sepultura. Nadie se atrevía a bajarlo, hasta que un arriero que pasó por el lugar lo hizo, cubriendo los restos con piedras, no sin antes pedir a su espíritu que le ayudara a encontrar una mula cargada de oro que tenía perdida, la encontró y comenzó a difundir el culto de Malverde milagroso."
“Legend says that after his death, his body was hung in a mesquite tree by order of the governor, and he was forbidden burial as a warning to Malverde’s followers. No one dared to take the body down until a passing mule-skinner did so, and covered his remains with rocks, but not before asking Malverde’s spirit to find a missing mule that was loaded with gold. The mule was recovered, and the cult of a miraculous Malverde began to spread.
Ahí mismo se explica que el nombre de "Malverde" no está bien fundamentado, algunos dicen que era porque robaba envuelto en hojas de plátano para perderse entre la naturaleza tropical de la zona; otros más hacen referencia a las supersticiones del lugar, pues al diablo le llaman el "verde", es decir, un mal diablo. O quizá la más acertada en referencia a la hoja de mariguana como "el mal verde".
The same author explains that the origin of Malverde’s name is not well documented, and some say that it came from a practice of disguising himself with banana leaves to elude capture amongst the natural vegetation of the region; others make reference to the superstitions of the place, and the devil was called “the green one” — the bad devil. Or perhaps, it is a reference to the marijuana leaf which was called the “bad green”.
Astorga explica que la creencia común de esta figura se desarrolló porque la mayoría de los traficantes de clases populares lo adoptaron por medio de familiares y generaciones anteriores que compartían la creencia, independientemente del trabajo al que se dedicaban.
Astorga explains that common worship of this figure evolved when a majority of traffickers from popular (lower) classes adopted it through their contact with relatives and earlier generations who had shared the belief, independently of the work they did.
"La gente que lo asocia únicamente con eso (tráfico de drogas) está perdiendo de vista la característica antropológica y la dimensión histórica, que es importante para entender el porqué de la persistencia de la creencia."
People who link this belief only to drug traffic miss the broader anthropological characteristics and historical aspects playing a major part in the persistence of this worship.
La figura completa del santo porta un sombrero, una escuadra colgada en el cuello y una faja de dinero que le sale de los bolsos, y su rostro es una mezcla de Pedro Infante y Jorge Negrete.
A complete image of this saint wears a hat, has a bandana around his neck, and a stack of bills stuffed in his pockets; and his face is a blending of those matinee and musical idols Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete.
El personaje fue llevado al teatro en Sinaloa y recorrió con éxito varios estados del país, obra célebre del dramaturgo sinaloense Óscar Liera (1946-1990), titulada El jinete de la Divina Providencia, basada precisamente en la leyenda urbana del santo y publicada en 2008 por el Fondo de Cultura Económica (FCE) en Teatro Escogido, Óscar Liera.
The figure of Malverde was brought to the stage in Sinaloa and had a long successful run in several Mexican states, through a play called “The Horseman of Divine Providence” by Sinaloan playwrite Oscar Liera (1946-1990), and which included the urban legends of this saint. The play was also published and distributed in 2008 by the Fondo de Cultura Economica (FCE).

En referencia a la comercialización de imágenes o figuras alusivas al mundo del narco, Astorga dice que "vivimos en una sociedad capitalista, una sociedad de consumo en la que todo es comerciable, no habría por qué ser distinto a otros países, a menos que existieran alguna serie de impedimentos, pero aquí no es posible".
With respect to the commercialization of Malverde’s image and other allusions to the narco world, Astorga says that “we live in a capitalist society just like other countries, and we’re a consumer society where everything is for sale unless roadblocks are put in the way, and that isn’t possible here”
El investigador explica que es erróneo referirse con conceptos académicos al respecto, pues en su opinión son etiquetas mediáticas que construyen un lenguaje especial:
This social researcher explains that it would be a mistake to try to interpret with academic concepts, because in his opinion these ideas are media labels that fit it into their special language.
"No hay mucha imaginación al respecto, con el prefijo de 'narco' se hace referencia a la visión de lo que los medios piensan es el mundo del narcotraficante, pero no hay nada más."
“It’s not very imaginative in that respect, since the prefix “narco” is added to whatever the media wants to link to the narcotraffic world, but it remains little more than a label”
Comenta que la creencia en Malverde, en la Santa Muerte, y en otros santos también asociados al mundo de la delincuencia, dependen del "origen y trayectoria social, del capital cultural y, por supuesto, de la jerarquía que tienen al respecto; en el mundo de los traficantes, mientras más alta es la jerarquía más se acercan a la de los santos oficiales. Los santos o figuras religiosas en las que creen, mientras más alto nivel tienen en el negocio, se van acercando más a la sociedad legal".
He added that belief in Malverde, in Holy Death, and other saints linked to the world of crime, comes from an “origin and social trajectory, from cultural capital, and certainly sits within an established hierarchy of importance; and in the drug-trafficking world, the worship of “official saints” is more important. Even so, saints or religious figures fall further down the scale of importance than does business, and in that respect narcotraffickers share a great deal with a legal society”.
Astorga Almanzá también es miembro del Sistema Nacional de Investigadores y de la Academia Mexicana de Ciencias. Entre sus publicaciones destacan: Drogas sin fronteras (2003) y Seguridad, traficantes y militares (2007), además de diversos artículos en revistas científicas. En abril de 2008, se realizó en Sinaloa el Foro Internacional sobre Drogas Ilícitas, donde participó con una conferencia magistral en referencia a este último libro.
Luis Astorga Almanzá is also a member of the National System of Researchers and of the Mexican Academy of Science. Several of his pubications are widely recognized for their excellence: “Drugs without Borders” (2003) and “Security, traffickers and the military” (2007) and he has also published many studied in distinguished articles in academic journals. In April of 2008, he participated in the International Forum Examining Illegal Drugs, where he was a keynote speaker on themes described in his 2007 book.
Acerca de la Sesión Especial de la Asamblea General de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (UNGASS) sobre drogas, mediante el Segmento de Alto Nivel de la Comisión de Estupefacientes, donde se discutirán las políticas de control de drogas, según destaca su página web, el investigador comenta:
In speaking about the Special Session of the General United Nations Assembly over drugs, he is chair of a section of the High Commission on Narcotics, where politics of drug control are considered. On his web page, Astorga says:
"Yo creo que aquí se van a plantear varias tendencias sobre drogas y democracia, una posición que pretende tomar medidas adoptadas por países europeos en equilibrar la política con una visión preventiva; por ejemplo, al descriminalizar el consumo de drogas, como la mariguana, hasta cierto tipo de consumo."
“I believe that this is where we can lay a groundwork for examining several trends relating to drugs and democracy, a place that can take into account many measures adopted by European countries to balance politics with their preventive vision; for example, that of decriminalizing consumption of some drugs, for instance marijuana, under some cirumstances”
En referencia a si se pronuncia a favor o en contra de la legalización de esta planta, dice: "Ese tipo de planteamientos son los que están en debate, no tiene sentido decir si estoy a favor o en contra, lo interesante es ver el estado de la discusión y lo que se plantea en los foros internacionales. Eso tiene que ver con la política de salud y un cambio en la percepción de los consumidores de drogas y los grandes traficantes que utilizan la violencia y se confrontan con el Estado."
With respect to whether or not he favours or is opposed to legalization of marijuana, he says: “Those types of proposals are on the table, and I’m not inclined to say whether I personally favour or oppose them; the most important and interesting thing is to get State get involved in a debate and to see what emerges from the international forums. This ought to be about the politics of health and a changing perceptions of drug consumers and the large traffickers using violence to confront the state.”

Translated by J. Creechan

For more information about Malverde in English, see Creechan, James H., and Jorge de la Herran-Garcia. 2005. "Without God or Law: Narcoculture and belief in Jesús Malverde." Religious Studies and Theology 24:53.

Hedging Bets Against the Swine Flu

The chapel of Jesus Malverde, commonly known as the patron saint of narcotraffickers, sits across from Sinaloa State's Government Centre. The State, like all others in Mexico is planning strategy and creating policies that will minimize the impact of a predicted H1N1 pandemic. As everyone knows, most influenza outbreaks are unusual outside of the winter season — but on a day when the temperature hit 47.5 Celsius in Culiacán there were reports that at least 5,000 people had been diagnosed with an infection of the H1N1. virus.

Malverde faithful are known to hedge their bets and the prayers to this putative saint are cross-referenced to recognized saints and Catholic figures such as the Virgen of Guadalupe, San Judeo de Tadeo (figure in background is San Judeo) and others. But this picture of a visitor to the chapel seems to indicate that it might also be wise to put some faith in science and hygiene.

A report about the swine flu and the picture is from Rio Doce, a weekly periodical in Sinaloa.

Politics and the Catholic Mass

Tales of 2 Countries:

and profane sacraments.

I'm certain that most Canadians read about the recent controversy involving a report about Stephen Harper and the "alleged pocketing" of Holy Communion during the funeral mass for the Right Honourable former Governor General Romeo LeBlanc. It had serious consequences for the New Brunswick newspaper St. John Telegraph-Journal—including the resignation of a scion of the powerful Irving family clan from the newspaper and an extremely rare front-page apology to the Prime Minister. (picture above from Milenio.com )

Meanwhile, in Mexico, the Mexican SSP working hand in hand with the American DEA raided a Michoacan church during Mass and held everyone at gunpoint. The action is being defended by the government and it has advanced arguments that there was special protection or tradition limits the use of such force. It did lead to 33 arrests, including that of a big fish nicknamed "La Troca" (Truck) who allegedly is the capo in charge of the largest export of synthetic drugs to the United States.

Here's an English language report of what happened last Saturday evening (August 1, 2009) during a mass to celebrate "la quinceañera" of a parishioner's family in the state of Michoacán Mexico. The federal security forces were looking for leaders of one of the 8 cartels currently involved in a bloody battle with the government and with each other. La Familia de Michoacan is a very strange group of drug dealers who specialize in supplying amphetamines and other synthetic drugs like crystal to the United States and to the Federal District. Their leaders have a messianic "bent" and have distributed documents that are treated like "revelations from god". The group became prominent and burst onto the scene when it threw 5 decapitated heads into a bar in Morelia two years ago.

Two weeks ago, it unleashed a wave of terror across Michoacan after one of its chief leaders ("la Tuta") was arrested. They targeted police and executed 16 in a few days, including 12 at one time. Their bodies were dumped in a pile beside a major highway in the State.

http://www.catholicreview.org/subpages/storyworldnew-new.aspx?action=6646

Mexican bishops criticize federal police for drug raid during Mass

By David Agren Catholic News Service MEXICO CITY – The Mexican Catholic bishops’ conference has criticized federal police for bursting into a Mass in Mexico’s western Michoacan state to apprehend an alleged drug-cartel lieutenant. “We make an energetic protest against the lack of respect and the violence exercised on the part of the forces responsible for guaranteeing the security of all persons in our nation - principally in the state of Michoacan - by interrupting a religious act ... at the moment in which holy Mass is celebrated,” the bishops said in an Aug. 3 statement signed by Auxiliary Bishop Jose Gonzalez Gonzalez of Guadalajara, conference secretary-general. “Nothing explains this kind of action inside a religious place and much less in these moments where Mexico is noted internationally as an insecure and violent country,” the bishops said. The Aug. 1 raid marked the first time that police officers have burst into a parish to arrest suspects linked to organized crime, said Father Mateo Calvillo Paz, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Morelia, which is in Michoacan. The raid also highlighted the increasing vulnerability of church officials and the faithful of being caught up - inadvertently or not - in the ongoing federal crackdown on drug cartels. The raid continued a high-profile crackdown on a cartel known as La Familia Michoacana in President Felipe Calderon’s home state, where some 5,500 federal police and soldiers have been dispatched to fight organized crime. By the end of July, violence from organized crime had claimed more than 250 lives in Michoacan and more than 3,500 lives nationwide, according to the newspaper Reforma. Mexico’s Secretariat of Public Security announced Aug. 3 that federal police officers arrested 33 alleged La Familia members in the raid. The detainees include Miguel Beraza Villa - known as “La Troca” (the Truck) - a cartel lieutenant that Mexican and U.S. authorities allege was responsible for transporting tractor-trailers full of synthetic drugs such as “ice” and “crystal” from the cartel’s clandestine laboratories to the United States via Tijuana, Mexico. Federal police, arriving in armored vehicles and accompanied by two Black Hawk helicopters, raided Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Apatzingan Aug. 1, interrupting a Mass being celebrated in advance of a quinceanera. Local media reported that an estimated 250 attendees and the priest - identified as Father Vicente Soto by the Michoacan news agency Quadratin - were held in the parish for six hours. Media photos of the parish showed dislodged furniture and other minor damage to property. Attempts to reach Father Soto through the Diocese of Apatzingan were unsuccessful. The Secretariat of Public Security said $13,000, 11 luxury vehicles, two assault rifles, 13 fragment grenades and 30 cellular phones were seized. It is uncertain whether any of the weapons were seized inside the parish. Attempts to reach a public security spokesman were unsuccessful. Father Calvillo said police “took advantage of the Mass to assault a large number of ‘narcos’“ and avoid bloodshed, but showed ignorance of the importance of the Mass. Mexico’s bishops, he added, “have rejected all types of protection or calls for arming themselves. It would be a false testimony.” The threat to the well-being of prelates due to the increase in organized crime violence has been the source of some disagreement within the church. Father Hugo Valdemar, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Mexico City, told reporters in July that three bishops in Michoacan had been threatened, but both Father Calvillo and a spokesman for the Diocese of Tacambaro told Catholic News Service that the statement was false. Both the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency lauded the Aug. 1 arrests as key accomplishments in Calderon’s battle against organized crime. Security expert Pedro Isnardo de la Cruz of the National Autonomous University of Mexico said La Familia has shown a surprising resilience that “reflects poorly” on the president’s war on organized crime, has demonstrated a “great ability to corrupt” local governments, and also appears to be receiving financing from unknown sources beyond Mexico. Aug 4, 2009

Curious and Strange Names of Narcotraffickers

La Barbie	Las Greñas
El Mochomo	El Pozolero
Los curiosos apodos de los narcos. click on link above for original publication	The curious nicknames of narcotraffickers. The AP English language version is available at the link above.
Los apodos de los narcotraficantes pueden ser llamativos y amenazantes o surreales e inocentes; algunos reflejan el rango de un matón, mientras que otros son arrastrados desde la infancia	The nicknames of narcotraffickers can be striking and threatening or surreal and innocent; some reflect the status (rank) of a killer, while others come from their childhood
APODOS. Un caso que estremeció a México fue el del Pozolero del Teo, un sujeto que disolvió, según su confesión 300 cadaveres en sosa, los hacía pozole en argot narco .	NICKNAMES: A case that made Mexico shudder was that of “El Teo’s Soupmaker”, someone who confessed to dissolving 300 bodies in caustic soda, used to soften corn kernels, and referring to the elimination of bodies in narco jargon.
Edgar Valdez Villareal es probablemente el principal sicario de uno de los cárteles de la droga más sanguinarios de México; ¿su apodo? La Barbie.	Edgar Valdez Villareal is one of the most violent killers for one of the most bloodthirsty cartels in Mexico. His nickname? Barbie!
Sí, como la muñequita de Mattel. Sucede que Valdez nació en Estados Unidos y es rubio, con ojos azules.	That’s right, just like the Mattel doll. It happens that Valdez was born in the United States and is fair skinned with blue eyes.
En el sanguinario bajo mundo del crimen organizado La Barbie es uno de tantos personajes tenebrosos, con apodos tan singulares como Mando Conejo, Talibán o Mono.	In the bloody underworld of organized crime, “La Barbie” is one of the many sinister personalities with unique nicknames like Mando Conejo (Boss Rabbit), Taliban or Mono (Monkey, Ape)
Un caso que estremeció a México fue el del Pozolero del Teo, un sujeto que disolvió, según su confesión, 300 cadáveres en sosa: los hacía pozole en argot narco.	A case that made Mexico shudder was that of “El Teo’s Soupmaker”, someone who confessed to dissolving 300 bodies in caustic soda, used to soften corn kernels, and referring to the elimination of bodies in narco jargon.
Los apodos de los narcotraficantes pueden ser llamativos y amenazantes o surreales e inocentes. Algunos reflejan el rango de un matón, mientras que otros vienen de sus épocas de escolares. También pueden aludir a la reputación del individuo, como en el caso de un mafioso conocido como El más loco.	The nicknames of narcotraffickers can be striking and threatening or surreal and innocent; some reflect the status (rank) of a killer, while others come from their schooldays. They can also refer to the individual’s reputation, such as that of the narco known as “Craziest Man”
Los sobrenombres, como en el caso de La Barbie, con frecuencia no tienen nada que ver con la persona que lo porta.	Many designations, such as Barbie, aren’t very descriptive of the person whom it identifies.
Y a menudo una misma persona usa varios apodos, lo que dificulta la tarea de las autoridades. No sólo es difícil averiguar la identidad real del delincuente, sino que a veces los delatores conocen a un mafioso únicamente por su apodo.	It’s more common for the same person to use different nicknames, and this makes police work more difficult. Not only is it difficult for authorities to verify the real identity of the criminal, but even in the criminal world other people know them only by their handle.
La policía dice que incluye todos los alias posibles de cada sospechoso y hace notar que hay ciertos apodos muy comunes, usados por mucha gente, como El Gordo.	Police say that they consider all possible nicknames used by each suspect and they have to include certain common ones used by many people — such as the ubiquitous Fatty.
No es raro el uso de apodos femeninos, como La Barbie, que generalmente son adosados antes de que una persona demuestre lo que vale, según Homero Aridjis, autor de la novela ''Sicarios''.	It’s not unusual to use feminine nicknames, like "Barbie:, which generally were used before that person demonstrated what he’s really like, says Homero Aridjis (author of the novel “Hitmen:)
''Los apodos son como un segundo bautismo, una incorporación al mundo delictivo'', manifestó.	“The nicknames are like a second baptism, an entry into the criminal world” he believes.
También pueden ser inocentes en una cultura habituada a dar sobrenombres a la gente, incluso desde la infancia, como ocurrió con el asesino a sueldo Israel Nava, conocido toda su vida como El Ostión, hasta que fue asesinado en abril en el norte del país.	They also can be innocent acts in a culture used to giving nicknames to people, even in childhood, just like that which happened with the hired killer Israel Nava who was known all of his life as “Clam”, right up until he was assassinated last April in northern Mexico.
''En teoría, ese debería ser el apodo de alguien que no habla mucho'', comentó Paco Ignacio Taibo II, quien escribe novelas policiales. ''Pero no era así. Lo llamaban Ostión desde la escuela primaria porque su padre tenía un puesto en el que vendía pescados''.	“In theory, this should be the nickname of someone who doesn’t say much” says Paco Ignacio Taibo II who writes crime novels. “But that’s not the case. They've called him this since primary school because his father had a booth where he sold fish”.
Colombia, que produce la mayor parte de la cocaína que pasa por México, también tiene una larga tradición de apodos coloridos. El matón Marco Tulio Moya, muerto en 1999, era tan eficiente en su trabajo que lo llamaban Baygón, por el insecticida del mismo nombre.	Colombia, which produces most of the cocaine that passes through Mexico, also has a long tradition of colourful nicknames. The killer Marco Tulio Moya, killed in 1999, was so good at his job that they called him “By-gone”, after the bug-killer of the same name.
''Si tú vas a un barrio pobre y preguntas por alguien usando su nombre verdadero, nadie sabrá quién es'', manifestó el novelista colombiano Juan José Hoyos.	“If you go to a poor neighbourhood and ask for anyone by the real name, no one will know who that is” says the Columbian novelist Juan José Hoyos.
Muchos de los apodos usados por los colombianos son tan ingenuos como los de los mexicanos. Un hermano del capo Pablo Escobar, Roberto, era llamado Osito porque ese era el nombre de un negocio de bicicletas que tuvo.	Many of the nicknames used by the Colombians are as creative as those used by the Mexicans. Robert, brother of Columbian capo Pablo Escobar, was called “Little Bear” because that was the name of a bicycle business that he owned.
En el caso de Los Zetas, brazo armado del cártel del Golfo, se emplea un estilo militar y asigna a su gente apodos que empiezan con la letra Z, seguida por un número. Z1 al Z10 son miembros fundadores.	In the case of the Zetas, the armed division of the Gulf Cartel, uses a military convention and assigns its people nicknames that begin with the letter Z followed by a number. Z-1 to Z-10 were the founding members.
La letra ''L'', seguida de un número, está reservada para guardaespaldas y ayudantes. Cuanto más alta la cifra, más bajo el rango.	The letter “L”, also followed by a number, is reserved for the body-guards and helpers. The higher the number, the lower the rank.
Algunos conservan su número alto a medida que van escalando posiciones. Otros cambian de apodo, como hizo Iván Velázquez Caballero, que dejó de lado el de L50 y pasó a ser conocido como Talibán.	Some like to keep their high number even after they move up the ladder. Others change their nickname, like Ivan Velazuez Cabellero, who put aside the handle L–50 and came to be known as Taliban.
Las autoridades no saben por qué Armando Santiago Orozco, capturado en enero en el estado de Oaxaca, es conocido como Mando Conejo.	Authorities have no idea why Armando Santiago Orozco, captured last January in Oaxaca is known as “Boss Rabbit”
El capo Alfredo Beltrán Leyva, arrestado el año pasado, es El Mochomo, nombre de una dañina hormiga del noroeste de México.	The capo Alfredo Beltran Leyva, arrested last year, is “Red Fire Ant”, the name of avoracious ant in northwest Mexico.
A menudo los narcotraficantes están encantados con sus apodos.	Most of the time, the narcotraffickers are really attached to their nicknames.
Steve Robertson, veterano agente de la Administración de Lucha contra las Drogas de Estados Unidos (DEA) , dijo que el traficante Gilberto Ontiveros, alias El Greñas, cuando cayó preso en 1989 hizo que otros reclusos confeccionasen pins con cabello artificial parecido al suyo para venderle a los visitantes. Distributed by AP and published in several places. The link in the title is from El Universal Mexico.	Steve Robertson, senior agent of the DEA, says that the trafficker Gilberto Ontiveros, also known as Wild Hair, when taken prisoner in 1989, had other prisoners make souvenir pins with artificial hair resembling his to sell to visitors. (translated by J. Creechan)

Cosala, Sinaloa and the legend of Heraclio Bernal

AQUÍ ESTÁ HERACLIO BERNAL
by Celia Cortés
Lunes 13 de julio de 2009

from Rio Doce (http://www.riodoce.com.mx)

Uno de los primeros corridos que el pueblo aún sigue cantando habla de un bandido que buscaba el Gobierno y fue traicionado por su compadre Crispín. Sí, nos referimos a Heraclio Bernal (1855-1888) a quien, como en vida buscaba el Gobierno para acabar con él y ahora lo buscan los cosaltecos para reivindicar su nombre.
To this day, one of the first corridos sung in Cosala is about a bandit who was hunted by the government and betrayed by his compadre Crispín. Yes, we’re speaking of Heraclio Bernal (1855-1888) whom the government wanted to finish off and the Cosalteco community wants to vindicate.
Mucho se ha hablado de Heraclio Bernal como un asaltante que robaba a los ricos para repartir entre los pobres, que participó en por lo menos 30 asaltos y 10 asesinatos, que lo veían al mismo tiempo en tres lugares distintos, que fue llevado a la cárcel al incriminarlo de robarse unas barras de plata, que lo mismo se vestía de carbonero cuando repartía riqueza entre los pobres, como se vestía de mujer para bailar con el gobernador.
There are many tales of Heraclio Bernal portraying him him as a thief stealing from the rich to share with the poor, and responsible for at least 30 robberies and 10 murders, who was reported to be in three different places at the same time, and who was hauled off to jail after being implicated in a robbery of several bars of silver, or as someone who disguised himself as a charcoal vendor to distribute riches to the poor, and even dressing like a woman to dance with the governor.
Pero además de la figura mítica del bandolero valiente, hoy, en vísperas de festejar el centenario de la Revolución Mexicana, hay una comisión que pretende reivindicar su nombre y buscan que se le reconozca como un visionario precursor de dicha lucha armada, con una visión que anticipó 25 años la decisión de muchos otros de poner fin al gobierno de Porfirio Díaz. Dicha comisión está integrada por miembros de La Crónica de Sinaloa, y son apoyados por el Gobierno del municipio de Cosalá, por ser donde más se ha querido a esta figura histórica.
But more than a mythical and valiant bandit figure, today, on the cusp the centenary celebrations of the Mexican Revolution, there’s a commission aiming to rehabilitate his reputation and honour his role as a 25 year precursor of the revolutionary views that eventually brought down the Porifirio Diaz government. The commission consists of members of the La Cronica de Sinaloa who are joined by members of the municipal government of Cosalá, where this historic figure is much beloved.

Y el caso es que Heraclio Bernal Zazueta, quien nació en Chaco, en el municipio de San Ignacio, y tras estudiar la primaria y en el Seminario, vivió en el pueblo minero de Guadalupe de los Reyes, donde trabajó buen tiempo hasta que lo incriminaron del robo de unas barras de plata, por lo que fue a parar a la cárcel de Mazatlán.
It’s the tale of Heraclio Bernal Zazueta, born in Chaco, in San Ignacio municipality, and who after completing primary studies in a seminary, lived and worked in the mining community of Guadalupe de Los Reyes for a long period until incriminated in the theft of silver bars, and then dumped in the Mazatlan jail.
Ahí, en el presidio, conoció a un español socialista que le facilitó textos de Marx, Backoumine, LaSalle, Saint-Simon, Owen y Proudhon, y fue donde Bernal se convenció de que los ricos eran unos ladrones de la riqueza del pueblo, dejando en la miseria a los trabajadores.
In that presidio, he met up with a Spanish socialist who familiarized him with the works of Marx, Backoumine, LaSalle, Saint-Simon, Owen and Proudhon, and it was here where he became convinced that the rich were stealing people’s wealth and leaving the workers in a miserable plight.
Escapa de prisión y decide vengarse. Regresa a Guadalupe de los Reyes y acaba con quien lo inculpó y luego con ex convictos y campesinos empiezan a asaltar diligencias de los hacendados para luego repartir lo robado entre los pobres.
Escaping from prison, he decided to exact revenge. Returning to Guadalupe de los Reyes, he wiped out those who had implicated him and then, in the company of ex-convicts and campesinos, began a systematic assault on landholders to distribute the booty to the poor.
Con el tiempo se unió primero a Ramírez Terrones, después a García de la Cadena con quien propuso al pueblo que se levantara en armas, primero con el Plan de la Rastra, más tarde con el Plan de Conitaca, lanzado en 1887, donde hablaban de acabar con el gobierno de Porfirio Díaz, instruyendo a las trabajadores para mejorar sus salarios, hablaba en contra del despojo que el Gobierno hacía del pueblo yaqui, a quien prometía que les devolvería sus tierras y hablaba también de la “no reelección”.
Eventually, he joined up with Ramírez Terrones, and then with García de la Cadena with whom he incited people into an armed uprising, first through the Plan de La Rastra, and later by the Plan de Conitaca which was proclaimed in 1887. It spoke of terminating the Porifio Diaz government, taught workers that they should earn more, denounced the pillage sponsored by the government against the Yaqui people, and promised to return lands and even addressed the issue of “no re-election”.
Por supuesto que Porfirio Díaz ordenó su persecución, lo mismo que el gobernador de Sinaloa, y aunque Heraclio Bernal conocía muy bien la sierra, una pulmonía le impidió irse al extranjero como lo tenía planeado, y aunque se indica que su compadre Crispín lo traicionó, la gente en Cosalá indica que fueron órdenes del propio Bernal a su compadre que le diera un balazo y él mismo lo entregara para que la recompensa se la dieran a él y la repartiera al pueblo.
In response, Porfirio Diaz ordered that he be hunted down, and the governor of Sinaloa did the same. Even though Heraclio Bernal knew the mountainous terrain, pneumonia thwarted a plan to flee abroad— and even though some say that his compadre Crispin betrayed him, the people of Cosala say it was Bernal himself who directed his compadre to shoot him and later collect the reward so that it could be distributed to the people.
En el coloquio que el pasado miércoles se organizó en Cosalá, tras varias ponencias de expertos e historiadores, donde se habló de la admiración que Francisco Villa tuvo por este luchador social, escuchamos a Teodora Mendoza, quien indicó que su padre fue colaborador de Heraclio Bernal, y tras su muerte, Crispín le dio las monedas que le correspondían como a muchos otros del pueblo, mismas que ahora ella ha entregado a quienes promueven la reivindicación de su nombre y exposición de imágenes del precursor de ideas revolucionarias.
In a seminar organized last Wednesday in Cosalá, several presentations by historical experts reported Francisco Villa’s admiration for this socal activist, and afterwards Teodora Mendoza said that his father had been a collaborator of Heraclio Bernal. He reported that after Bernal’s death, it was Crispin who distributed coins from the reward to the community. Many of those people and their families are now promoting the vindication of Bernal’s reputation, and supporting the exhibition of the exhibits which are precursors of revolutionary ideas.
Al finalizar el coloquio Aquí Está Heraclio Bernal se hizo una visita al panteón de Cosalá, donde indican descansan los restos del bandolero generoso, aunque hay controversia de si se encuentran en el osario o junto a la pared de la antigua entrada al panteón, de donde lugareños platican que Paquis Corrales, ex presidenta municipal, retiró la cruz que decía Heraclio Bernal, por lo que hoy sigue siendo válida la frase “Se busca a Heraclio Bernal”, pero los que se lo han propuesto lo buscan para llevar sus restos a la Rotonda de los Sinaloenses Ilustres y planean poner su nombre en letras de oro en el Congreso estatal; pero la empresa que se proponen es realizar una estatua ecuestre que se instalará en el pueblo mágico de Cosalá antes de que acabe el año, para lo cual han convocado a personalidades cosaltecas y sinaloenses entre las que se incluye al gobernador Jesús Aguilar Padilla. Es una ardua empresa, pero Heraclio Bernal luchó toda su vida por apoyar a quienes menos tenían y en pro de la justicia social.
At the end of the seminar “Here is Heraclio Bernal”, there was a visit to the cemetery of Cosalá, where the remains of the generous bandit were pointed out. There is controversy about whether he’s in the tomb where locals say a former mayor, Paquis Corrales, removed a cross with the name Heraclio Bernal— or whether he is next to the wall at the entrance to the old cemetery. Even today, the phrase “Wanted: Heraclio Bernal” continues to be meaningful. But there are those who have proposed looking for his remains and bringing them to the Rotunda of Illustrious Sinaloans and putting his name in gold letters there in the State Congress. However, the organization has proposed erecting an equestrian statue in the magical community of Cosalá before the year end, and this is the favoured option of Cosala dignitaries and Sinaloans, including Governor Jesús Aguilar Padilla. It’s an arduous undertaing, but Heraclio Bernal fought his entire life to help those had less and on behalf of social justice.

(translated by J.Creechan)

Link to the Corrido of Heraclio Bernal

Mexicans, Czechs will need visas to visit Canada

Mexicans, Czechs will need visas to visit Canada

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Facebook Group for CIASP

A facebook group for CIASP/CEPIA has been created.

Those who have a Facebook account should search for CIASP/CEPIA and join. The group is OPEN.

Others are invited to join facebook and then join the group. If you have concerns about privacy, it's possible to protect yourself in a couple of ways. First, create a new account on gmail.com (google), hotmail.com, yahoo.com etc. Then use this account to create a FACEBOOK account. You can be selective about much of the information you choose to enter, AND you should make certain that most of your information (address, birth year, etc.) are marked as PRIVATE in the Preferences and Settings.

The FACEBOOK account allows a lot more interactive discussion and chatting. It also allows everyone to see your photos and souvenirs from CIASP

Es el mariachi tradicional victima latente de la comercialización\

An article in Spanish about traditional mariachi groups.

Es el mariachi tradicional victima latente de la comercializacion: especialista | Milenio.com

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Return to Pisaflores: 43 years later

RETOUR A PISAFLORES 20-21 NOVEMBRE 2008-11-23
Denis LaRose
Croyant que le voyage serait de 4 heures, je suis parti vers 8H30 le vendredi 20 novembre 2008 avec Dave H, un géologue américain en visite à San Miguel de Allende depuis deux mois, dans ma Volkswagon coccinelle 1995.
Nous voguons sans problème vers Quérétaro, que nous évitons grâce à l’autoroute, et allons direction sud passé SAN JUAN DEL RIO, puis nous quittons l’autoroute en direction est sur la route nationale 45 (une fois dans Hidalgo) et ensuite vers la 85.
Après avoir vu le superbe fleuve Moctezuma entouré de cacti variés, de la hauteur d’un superbe pont nous continuons notre chemin. Soudainement le paysage change totalement…. Il y a plein de nuages, de la pluie, du brouillard, et d’immenses montagnes le long desquelles serpentent la route 85 …inlassablement pendant des kilomètres et pendant au moins 3 heures.
Nous arrivons à l’embranchement de la route pour Pisaflores vers 16h30 ….et à tout hasard nous demandons avant de descendre les 18 kilomètres (de 1500 mètres à 250 mètres) vers Pisaflores s’il y avait un hôtel à Pisaflores…. OUI… alors malgré la pluie et l’heure tardive nous descendons sur un chemin pavé vers le village où nous trouvons effectivement un petit hôtel et nous prenons chacun une chambre pour $15 chacune.. un lit une douche ça suffit… Il pleut encore….
La ville a beaucoup grandit depuis 1965 quand j’y suis allé, et quand nous avons ouvert la route vers Pisaflores. En 1969 ils ont construit un imposant pont sur le fleuve Moctezuma et depuis l’électricité, le téléphone ont atteint la petite ville qui compte plusieurs pharmacies, plusieurs médecins (dont un comme maire), plusieurs camions de police (au moins trois), et plusieurs politiciens. Quand j’y suis allé il n’y avait qu’un médecin qui faisait son stage obligatoire avant de pouvoir pratiquer, aucune pharmacie et à peine un magasin général.
Il semble que l’économie soit surtout centrée sur la culture du café (et du maïs). Il y a toujours l’école primaire publique, une école secondaire, mais l’école catholique a été abandonnée (j’avais enseigné une deuxième année….puisqu’ils n’avaient aucun professeur)…. Ils ont construit une très belle et grande église catholique.
Nous avons bien dormi, mais à 6 heures du matin j’étais debout pour prendre des photos… il ne pleuvait plus. J’ai aussi acheté beaucoup de café local.
Puis à 10 heures nous étions sur le chemin du retour. A mi-chemin nous avons pris une route tout à fait différente pour nous rendre à Quérétaro…. Que de paysages et montagnes superbes nous avons pu voir une fois sortis des forêts pluvieuses et montagneuses. Nous avons vu un lac immense créé par un barrage gigantesque et traversé trois très longs tunnels à travers les montagnes…
Nous sommes arrivés à 18h30 à San Miguel. Nous avons été à une réunion aa et j’ai apporté avec moi mon sac à dos contenant mes caméras etc…. Une fois rendu chez moi vers 21 h je me suis rendu compte que je n’avais pas mon sac à dos… j’ai pensé l’avoir oublié au local de la réunion aa… aucun signe du sac dans le local… le lendemain je fais toutes sortes d’investigations, pour apprendre que le sac se trouvait, ouvert, devant le local des aa… Un couple l’a vu et devait le prendre… mais comme j’ai appris ce soir… ils l’ont laissé sur la rue ne sachant pas à qui il pouvait appartenir….
Donc je mets une annonce à la radio locale pour essayer de localiser le sac (récompense de $200)….. j’ai aussi appelé mon assurance maison et fait une réclamation… il semble que soit couvert moins $500…. Je pense avoir perdu une valeur de $4000 et surtout mes très belles photos…
Triste conclusion de voyage… mais je garde en moi les souvenir et ce fut très satisfaisant de voir ce village si perdu et lointain qui a marqué ma vie.
Denis LaRose le 23 novembre 2008

A RETURN TO PISAFLORES 43 YEARS LATER
by Denis LaRose
San Miguel de Allende, November 30th 2008
On November 21st 2008, I left from San Miguel de Allende in the state of Guanajuato in Mexico, to return to the state of Hidalgo, specifically to Pisaflores where I had been with a group of Canadian University students in the summer of 1965.
By the map I figured I could make the trip in about 4 hours with my 1995 Beattle Volkswagon. An American friend, a geologist, was accompanying me.
We drove south, towards Queretaro, passed San Juan del Rio and then headed east, first on the 45, and then on the 85 highways. Once we crossed the mighty Tula river we noticed a definite change in vegetation, from the semi desertic plateau with cacti to the rain forests with pines and lots of greenery as we got closer and closer to the Sierra Madre mountains.
By then we had driven for 4 hours --- little did we know that we still had to drive in the rain, in the fog, and in the curved road in the mountains, at 30 km an hour, for another 4 hours before we reached the road that led to Pisaflores.
Around 4:30 pm we arrived at a junction, 18 kms from Pisaflores, and asked if by any chance there was a hotel in Pisaflores—otherwise given the late hour we would have headed for the close-by CHAPULHUACAN that appeared to have a good hotel.
To our surprise, there was a hotel in Pisaflores with several rooms so we headed down the paved road all the way to the town, after crossing a bridge over the impressive Moctezuma river. The rooms were $15 (150 pesos) and had a bed, sheets, a shower and washroom and toilet paper.
Unfortunately it was raining and it was somewhat foggy but at least the weather was warmer than up above at the level of Highway 85!!!
We explored the town, noticed the many businesses, at least 3 pharmacies, a photographic store, several doctor’s offices, hardly any real restaurants. We headed for the church: a beautiful, modern church and walked along the Rio Blanco that crosses the town and bought some coffee in a shop, where the 80 yo owner remembered the Canadians, in particular a guy called JAIME (JAMES….). We bought all the coffee he had.
After a rest we returned to the town square that now had 3 police trucks and a pharmacy where the General Store used to be. We ate some beef and chicken tacos right there on the square and they were very tasty.
There were lots of happy people, kids, couples walking around. There was electricity, satellite dishes, phones.
The next morning I got up early to take some photos (I would later lose the camera and all the photos on my returning to San Miguel de Allende).
We had breakfast on the town square eating a corn dish with chicken (the corn looked like couscous) –with cinnamon flavoured coffee. It was all very tasty and neither of us were sick.
I asked the lady who was serving breakfast when they had built the bridge,,,, she figured it was completed sometime in 1969. She remembered the Canadians and Father Jesus (Zepeda), who had since passed away she said.
I bought some more coffee from Pisaflores at a different store on the other of the square.
It was time to return (9:30 am).
The visit made a strong impression on me. I recognized the street and the house where we had camped for at least 6 weeks. I have been reflecting on our role in those days. We had built a road at father Jesus’ urging with the campesinos. I had taught grade 2 at the catholic school, which was still there but not used as a school anymore. I had worked as the translator for the nurse, Pauline Proulx, in Pisaflores and in the villages around. Sometimes I could not translate as the patient would speak only an Indian language—but to make him understand that we came from very far, the patient was told that we came from Mexico City!!!
Pisaflores is a beautiful town, and its main activity seems to be the growth of coffee and corn. Its inhabitants look happy and fairly prosperous. Our road had allowed Mexico to reach Pisaflores. It has allowed the establishment of a public health clinic, a high school, health care, electricity, water treatment among other visible changes.
After driving such a long distance I figured I would not return. But I might very well do return, maybe in a less rainy season. In the end it seems that father Zepeda built the road that the government would not build. It seems now that the Hidalgo government is fulfilling its role of serving also the people of Pisaflores.
In my personal history, Pisaflores of 1965 has had a major impact. I realized that philosophy as a profession was not what I wanted to do. I kept on studying philosophy on my return to Canada, and read Marx that said: < It is not important to interpret the world, it is necessary to transform it.>
I ended up studying medicine and psychology and became a cardiologist that practised in Gatineau, Québec, for 23 years until my retirement 3 years ago. At my retirement I headed back to Mexico and settled, at least for 6 months of the year, in San Miguel de Allende.